Method for waking a device in response to wireless network activity
View Patent ↗A method and a system for data transmission between a first electronic device and a second electronic device, wherein the second electronic device is in a sleep mode. Transmission of data between the first electronic device and the second electronic device occurs while a microprocessor in the second device is in sleep mode and the wireless transceiver is in a wake mode. The first electronic device transmits data signals and the second electronic device detects the transmitted signal. A base band processor in the second electronic device optionally determines if the signal is from a known source. If the first electronic device is a known electronic device, an interrupt signal is generated to wake up the microprocessor in the second electronic device. The wakened microprocessor opens a communication port and disables the wake-up interrupt. In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the data receive line is directly coupled to a line that triggers an interrupt when a signal is detected. The received message is then stored in memory for subsequent use.
1. A method for receiving information comprising:
receiving a communication signal including a connection request that is transmitted from a first electronic device to a second electronic device using a wireless communication protocol, said second electronic device comprising a processor and a wireless communication device, and wherein said processor is in a sleep mode while said wireless communication device is awake;
determining whether a communication port is closed;
in response to said connection request and provided said communication port is closed, automatically triggering an interrupt over an interrupt line to wake up said processor;
opening said communication port coupled to said wireless communication device for said processor to receive said communication signal and disabling said interrupt line;
closing said communication port after receiving said communication signal and enabling said interrupt line; and
storing said communication signal.
2. A method as described in claim 1 wherein said second electronic device is a personal digital assistant (PDA).
3. A method as described in claim 1 wherein said second electronic device is a handheld computer.
4. A method as described in claim 1 wherein said wireless communication device substantially complies with the Bluetooth protocol.
5. A method as described in claim 1 wherein said wireless communication device is Infrared (IR).
6. A method as described in claim 1 further comprising the steps of determining if said first electronic device belongs to a list of trusted devices before generating said interrupt to wake said processor.
7. A method as described in claim 6 wherein said processor adds an identification of a transmitting device to said list of trusted devices.
8. A method as described in claim 6 wherein a user initially creates said list of trusted devices in said processor.
9. A method as described in claim 1 wherein said communication port is a serial port.
10. A method as described in claim 1 wherein said communication port is a USB port.
11. A method as described in claim 1 further comprising:
upon power-up, notifying a user that a communication has been stored according to e); and
providing said user with an accept/reject function with respect to any stored communications.